NatSec Brief: August 15, 2024

forces returned fire after the attack on July 26 against the launch site of the attack in Syria, but the location was empty by the time the U. [...] The attacks in July—which occurred shortly before and after meetings in Washington between U. [...] ⚫ Following the deaths of senior Hezbollah and Hamas leaders, the attacks on August 7, 9, and 13 appear to be Tehran testing its ability to resume proxy attacks against U. [...] ⚫ On the other hand, the attacks in July were likely an attempt by Iran-backed militia to show their continued disapproval with the U. [...] » Similar to attacks on April 21 and 22, the Iran-backed militia may have launched the at- tacks on July 16 as an attempt to demonstrate their disapproval of a high-level trip of Iraqi military officials to Washington to negotiate the continued presence of U.